> this morning on "world news now" -- this morning on "world news now" -- one day away. we are just over 24 hours until the polls open, the candidates work nearly round the clock battling for every last vote. >> a frantic pace in the final stretch. it's monday, november 5th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good morning. i cannot believe it is november 5th already. >> it is. >> go time. >> it is go time. let's finally do it. got an extra hour of sleep. feeling good. and it is election eve. good monday morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. the race this morning, basically where it has been for weeks now. a total dead heat. three national polls show the race completely deadlocked.

>> we're going to have much more on the presidential election and the candidates' mad dash toward the finish line, but first a look at some of the other stories we're following for you on this monday morning. sandy's aftermath. as the temperatures plunge. there is new worry for the million people still without power. this morning, another powerful storm may be on the way. heartbreaking images. people just trying to stay warm, even turning the gas, ignition, gas on their stove on to stay warm. people who have basically nothing, and now they might get hit with another cold front. >> the mayor estimates here in new york, 20,000 new yorkers could be homeless as a result of this. the temperatures dip. you know, if you have a medical condition, you're vulnerable. if you're elderly, you're vulnerable. a dangerous situation. now a nor'easter sounds like definitely headed toward the area sometime on wednesday. if you're already in a vulnerable area, more rain and wind, not what you need or want to hear about. more details on that. this morning, a story of a

survival in the face of sandy. a hiker on a journey of a lifetime becomes stranded in the height of the storm. the dramatic rescue in the nick of time and it is caught on tape. an abc news investigation, why a group of activists could be watching you at the polls. watching you closely. maybe intimidating you a little bit. >> that's a very telling story there too. the polls. fun neap. all most seems like martial law. team of investigators. department of justice sending monitors. monitors monitoring the monitors. >> lawyers. >> you have this group monitoring the polls, the lawyers. so it's going to be a messy tuesday, that's for sure. >> can we just vote in peace? >> that would be nice. >> and sing kumbaya? >> that would be nice. >> campaigning, planning, weeks of barnstorming, the battleground states come down to one day, manana, tomorrow. >> finally here, folks. election eve. 2012. one day to go. and for a look at how the candidates are spending the

final hours, we turn to abc's reporter preeti arla. good morning to you. >> good morning, rob and paula. it is expected to be a photo finish. and both side are trying to get the edge by racing from swing state to swing state, trying to within over those undecided voters. a frantic pace for mitt romney and president obama in the final stretch, crisscrossing the swing states. mitt romney, 14 stops in seven states. president obama, 14 stops in eight states. the latest abc news/"washington post" poll shows the race essentially deadlocked. 49% of likely voters support obama, 48%, romney. >> so we've made real progress, florida, these past four years. >> reporter: the candidates and their running mates all made stops in the critical battleground state of ohio. of course, they had dueling messages for voters. >> i know what real change looks like. it's because i fought for it. it's because i delivered it. we can't give up on it now. >> you hope that president obama would live up to his promise to

bring people together to solve big problems. but he hasn't, and i will. >> also on romney's schedule, pennsylvania. a traditionally democratic state that romney is making a play for. >> the people of america understand we're taking back the white house because we're going to win pennsylvania. >> as the rays for voters continues in florida, chaos for those trying to cast their ballots. >> let us vote! let us vote! >> so many voters showed up to a miami polling center it overwhelmed the employees who briefly closed it. still millions have voted in florida. tens of millions voted early nationwide. so now only one full day of campaigning left. mitt romney makes five stops starting in florida. president obama makes three stops and then heads home to

chicago. rob and paula. >> thank you, preeti. and it is kind of interesting. i don't know what's going on down in florida. you'd think with their dubious election history there in the sunshine state after 2000 -- we remember the debacle. you knew it was a tight rays, you knew both candidates were urging early voting. turnout was going to be strong. early voting. could have set record numbers this year. why weren't they better prepared to handle the rush. and why is the governor unlike his two republican predecessors not extending early voting there? why are we seeing scenes like that in florida? it's hard to believe. makes you wonder what is going on. >> plethora of nightmare scenarios why we may not know the results of this until a week, week and a half down the road. one of them is in florida. there's 27,000 absentee ballots in palm beach county that can't be read by voting machines because of a printing error, so now you're going to have to have lawyers from both sides potentially raising challenges, and this could get ugly. >> it could get very ugly. people are upset in ohio, everything hinging on ohio.

upset with the secretary of state. there are changes. hate to say it. don't be surprised if parts of it end up in court again. we hope it doesn't. early signs are not encouraging. >> no. >> watch it all play out starting tomorrow. >> yep. and make sure you stay with abc news for complete coverage of the presidential election. >> diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos will be in our times square election headquarters. and our entire political team will be out in force for what, as we said, could be a very long night. no matter what, folks, just go out there and vote and be heard. >> very long night. maybe stretching into a very long couple of weeks. >> yes. >> sandy's aftermath could have an impact on the election. some voters will be casting ballots in places from their usual polls. and some polling places will be running on generators and using emergency lights and portable toilets. >> the aftermath continues. now a new storm could hit the region by the middle of this week. accuweather's jim dickey is joining us with more on that. hi, jim.

>> good morning, rob, paula. tracking a system. fairly innocent looking right now. light rain through the midwest. continue to track its way southward as we head through the day. spreading showers and thunderstorms. southern plains, lower mississippi valley. as we head forward, system. building blocks what looks to be a classic nor'easter will hug the coast north and eastward through midweek. wind-driven rain will arrive in areas affected by sandy wednesday night and last on through thursday. for england, snowfall. this is not what we want to see. nothing like what we saw sandy. a powerful system bringing heavy rain, wind. 30 to 40 miles an hour at times that will cause coastal flooding. rob and paula, back to you. >> thanks, jim. we guess. not the news we want to hear. officials worry that the cold temperatures will mean tens of thousands of folks whose homes were damaged will need places to live. volunteers spread out in some of the hardest hit areas sunday, handing out food, bottled water, and, of course, warm clothes, but more than a million homes and businesses are still without power. >> it's starting to get cold. people are in homes that are

uninhabitable. it's going to become increasingly clear that they're uninhabitable when the temperature drops. >> besides red cross shelters, fema says anyone with a storm-damaged home could get a voucher for temporary housing in a hotel. be sure to look into that if you need to. a reminder, all day today here at abc and on your local abc station, an unprecedented day of giving. your chance to pitch in off to help with hurricane sandy relief efforts. on top of the walt disney company's $2 million cash commitment, today abc will be helping raise money for the red cross. beginning with "good morning america," running through "jimmy kimmel" late tonight, all network and syndicated shows will be getting out the message how you can donate on the web and at 1-800-helpnow. you can text. lots of ways to help. keep it here on abc all day. fema is pitching in with

fuel for the storms. the agency started to deliver 24 million gallons of fuel over the weekend at ten distribution centers they set up in new york and new jersey. some of that fuel is only for first reponders. at other sites, drivers can get up to ten gallons of gas. at the gas stations that are open, people are still waiting hours -- and this is no exaggeration -- hours to fill up. >> and one of the true nightmares, the aftermath. and now we turn to a very sad incident at the pittsburgh zoo. a 2-year-old child was killed at an exhibit featuring wolf-like creatures called painted dogs. the child's mother had lifted him onto a railing, but he slipped and fell some 15 feet into the pen. that's when the pack of dogs attacked. the zoo coopers lured them away, but had to shoot and kill one who did not respond. the zoo is now closed indefinitely. >> and those african dogs, they had to shut down that particular zoo earlier this year because several of them escaped and were running around.

>> i just wonder why the mother would have her little kid up on the rail knowing what was below. horrible story. >> i know. it is tragic. sometimes you lift your kid up so they can get a better peek if they pulled themselves over. they're quick. kids can react in a second. >> it's sad. sad. well, history was made yesterday at the willis tower, which is formerly the sears tower in chicago, as a 31-year-old man climbed all 103 floors with a bionic leg. >> this story is incredible. zac vawter lost his right leg in ape motorcycle accident three years ago. he now has a state-of-the-art prosthetic leg controlled by his mind. electrical impulses literally travel from his brain to his hamstring, triggering movement in his artificial leg. >> the charity climb of 2,100 steps took about 45 minutes and raised money for the rehabilitation institute of chicago, which helped develop the technology in his leg. amazing.

>> congrats, man. technology. whoo, impressive. coming up, our coverage of tuesday's election continues after the break. up next, an abc news investigation. a group with tea party affiliations could be watching you at the polls. why some say it is a classic case of voter intimidation. you're watching "world news now." ♪ i have no privacy ♪ i always feel like somebody's watching me ♪ ♪ tell me is it just a dream ♪ when i come home at night ♪ tell me is it just a dream e, until it's completely clean. lysol toilet bowl cleaner gives you maximum coverage from the rim down to the water line to kill 99.9% of germs. and removes stains better than clorox toilet bowl cleaner with bleach. so if you want to do the whole job, lysol's got you covered. lysol. mission for health. and for an incredibly clean and fresh bowl with every flush, try the no mess automatic toilet bowl cleaner.

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♪ when i come home at ♪ why do i always feel like i'm in the twilight zone ♪ ♪ i always feel like somebody's watching me ♪ what with voting starting in a little other 24 hours, we have an abc news investigation into what some are calling voter intimidation. >> this is a serious story. the group is a million people strong, and they're already at the polls and beware. they are watching you. abc's dan harris, though, is keeping an eye on them. >> reporter: theresa sharp, a grandmother in battleground ohio says she's voted in every election since she was 18. >> voting to me is like sacred. >> reporter: imagine her surprise when she got this

letter in the mail. >> you are hooesh here binotified that your right to vote has been challenged by a qualified elector. >> reporter: six of her family members got similar letters. ch elector. >> reporter: six of her family members got similar letters. >> there's somebody out here trying to scare people into not voting. >> reporter: so who's behind this? a grassroots organization called "true the vote." >> willful fraudulent behavior. >> reporter: is your goal really to end voter fraud, or is your goal to really intimidate voters who disagree politically. >> our goal really is to encourage citizens to get involved in the process. >> they're doing a community service, they say, by making sure there's no voter's fraud. >> right. just the poor black neighborhood, right? everybody else is clean. >> teresa sharp has nothing to worry about because our citizens go into this race blind, party blind. >> you're not in any way directly targeting these communities. >> absolutely not. >> reporter: true the vote is

now vowing to mobilize a million poll watchers to look out for fraud like people voting multiple times. in the past activists have been accused of harassment in dominant districts. she insists true the vote is unpartisan. though she runs a separate group and made it clear she would like to see president obama lose. and here's another twist. study after study has found voter fraud to be virtually nonexistent. another study in 2005 that showed that the federal government was charging more americans with violating migratory bird statutes than election fraud. >> what we've experienced suggests that there's room for improvement. >> the cabbie threw out the challenge against her. the other day she voted early without incident. meanwhile true the vote now has poll watchers out at early voting places, including in minority neighborhoods, and the complaints have already bebegun.

dan harris, abc news, new york. >> i think everybody wants the voting process to have integrity. it's just a matter of people watching. what bias and agenda dupe they bring to the table. you have to watch out for that on both side. >> yes, it is subjective. though you hope it wouldn't be. well, still to come, our monday morning edition of "insomniac theatre." we're going to take a look at the denzel washington movie "flight." but, first, man stranded in the middle of the wilderness as the full force of hurricane sandy hit. how he managed to make his way to safety. you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations. are watching "world news

♪ come on baby and rescue me >> last week with sandy's ♪ come on baby and rescue me ♪ come on baby and rescue me last week with sandy's havoc on the northeast, a hiker was caught up aware in the mountains of tennessee with record amounts of snow falling. >> the hiker became trapped, and a small group of rescuers braved

the cold wind and the snow to track him down. abc's clayton sandell has the story. >> reporter: steven ainsworth was running out of time. the 56-year-old hiker set out in tennessee on the final leg of a 2,000-mile hike along the appalachian trail. but superstorm sandy hit unexpectedly fast, dropping record levels of snow. he was stranded in a tiny shelter for three days. hiking to safety, impossible. >> it took me eight hours to go about a mile and a quarter. >> reporter: with food and water running out and unable to feel his freezing feet, ainsworth needed help. his phone managed just enough signal to reach 911. >> i was in pretty tough shape at that point. >> reporter: deep snow blocked rescuers on the ground. brad lund and his team took to the skies. >> we were able to follow his footprints in the snow for approximately a mile and a half. and that's how we finally located him. >> reporter: but conditions turned treacherous. >> the winds were really howling.

>> it was like riding a roller coaster and bumper cars all at one time. >> reporter: dodging trees, jeff buchanan was lowered to ainsworth whose shoes were now frozen. >> stuck his head out of the tent. hung his head down low. he has never been so happy to see somebody. >> reporter: dangling in his socks, ainsworth is finally rescued. they said the first thing to me "did you bring a credit card?" and i said, "i did." and they said, good, you're buying the steaks," and i said, "as long asky have the first one." >> ainsworth is fine and grateful. >> they will say, that's our job, that's what we're supposed to do, but i am telling you that is more than a job. >> reporter: clayton sandell, abc news, denver. >> amazingly he walked away from what appears now just frostbite. >> lucky guy. >> mm-hmm. we're right back. guy. uh.

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♪ ♪ rob, that was a great rendition on the saxophone live, mm-hmm. time now for "insomniac theater." that was you playing just now on the saxophone. >> oh, yeah. yes, it was. >> our take on the movie that came in second place at the box office over the weekend. >> the film "flight" features denzel washington getting incredible reviews for his personal performance, but was the movie worth checking out? digital film analyst amanda vanallen checked out the film and is here to let us know what she thought. i see you're smiling as you got to spend two hours with your boy.

>> come on. we could have put the movie on mute. no, it was a really, really good movie, but only because denzel washington was the star of the film. i thought that toward the end of the movie it kind of rushed a little bit and there were some plot holes, but because denzel was the star, you were like, what plot holes, this is great. >> i don't need volume. >> i don't need to turn it up at all. no. a really good movie. the scene right here was very, very intense. i felt like i was on the plane. i needed to buckle my seatbelt. it was a lot of fun. >> basically crash landing. he saves mostly everyone on board. >> he saves mostly everyone on board. afterward there was discrepancy, you know, whether any of hissas had to do with the crash landing of the plane. so the whole movie goes through, you know, was it his fault? wasn't it his fault? he was battling demons throughout the film. >> making my stomach queasy watching that. >> wait until you get into the

movie theater with a huge screen. let's listen to what a couple of our moviegoers had to say about this one. >> i thought it was really well done, and i liked the character development. i really enjoyed it. >> i know a lot of denzel fans are probably going to kick my buns, but i'm sorry. i've seen better films from him. this is not one of his best at all. >> maybe a little bit on the cliched side, but it was good. >> you have to come to terms with his reality and stop lying and running away from his issues. it wasn't just about the flight. it was more a personal journey. >> oh. >> yeah, he had a personal journey throughout the film. and the great thing about this film is that denzel wasn't playing a typical denzel character. he was playing more or less not the hero this time but he was maybe a person that people didn't like that much. >> how many stars? >> i'm giving it four out of five stars. he was an incredible actor in this movie, and i had so m

this morning on "world news now" -- fight to the finish. the candidates are spending their last day campaigning in a race that is going down to the wire. >> and the focus is on the handful of crucial states that will decide the outcome. it is monday, november 5th. this morning on "world news now" -- fight to the finish. the candidates are spending their last day campaigning in a race that is going down to the wire. >> and the focus is on the handful of crucial states that will decide the outcome. it is monday, november 5th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good monday morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm paula faris. in a moment, the last gaffes of campaign 2012. how the candidates are making their closing arguments in the final hours. also this half hour, confusion and chaos in early voting in florida. the long lines, even locked doors. >> always hate to see an election come down to legal battles. in florida and ohio, already legal action being taken. could be another messy one, folks. hopefully nothing like 2000.

already some things to keep an eye on, that's for sure. also this morning, the standout high school football star who stepped out of bounds when he could have made an easy touchdown. the reason he did it makes this our "favorite story of the day." and later, a funny fellow with a serious message about election day. will farrell's really strange promise if you go to the polls tomorrow. it's all coming up in "the skinny." >> he is as crazy as always. make sure you stay tuned for that. but first, after all the polls, predictions, and the pundits, tomorrow it comes down to the people as americans choose their next president. >> with one day go -- that sounds good, doesn't it? >> yes, it does. >> -- the candidates are making most of their last campaign stops in a rays that appears to be extremely close. abc's jake tapper on the countdown to election day. >> reporter: as the candidates crisscross battleground states,

it's as if they're on different planets. both campaigns claim victory is within reach, their pitches, combinations of soaring rhetoric, and needy cries to not buy what the others are selling. >> he's hoping we'll settle. americans don't settle. we build! we aspire! we dream! we can do better! [ applause ] >> they're bet is on your cynicism. but, florida, my bet is on you and your hope. >> reporter: to appeal to undecided voters, sick of d.c. dysfunction, both candidates are cloaking themselves in bipartisan robes. >> i'll endeavor to find those good men and women on both sides of the aisle who care more about the country than they do about politics. >> i want all parties to work together. we're not democrats and republicans first. we're americans first. >> reporter: and as a sign of how close the obama campaign thinks this could be, the president appeared in new hampshire, which has four electoral votes. he was joined by bill clinton who mocked romney's pitch. >> don't pay too much attention to what our solutions are.

just be disappointed. look at me. i look like a president and i talk like one, and i'm telling you it's all going to be all right if you elect me. >> reporter: the president wistfully told his supporters the campaign is no longer about him or his team. >> we're no longer relevant now. we're props. because what's happened is now the campaign falls on these 25-year-old kids who are out there knocking on doors, making phone calls. >> reporter: sunday evening mitt romney made an appearance in the keystone state, pennsylvania, generally regarded as reliably blue. it has not voted for a republican for president since 1988. the question is was this the sign of a confident candidate trying to get ahead of a romney wave across the country, or was it an act of desperation for a campaign that cannot seem to break through here in ohio? jake tapper, abc news, traveling with the president in

cincinnati. and there is early election trouble in florida already, a key state that will help decide tomorrow's outcome. there was chaos over the weekend at some polling places. people at one crowded miami location chanting "let us vote" has overwhelmed employees briefly shut the doors. some people waited more than six hours in line, saturday, the last day to cast an early ballot in florida under a new state law. six hours -- i read some folks waited nine hours in line. this seems unreal, that you have to go through all of that simply to cast a ballot. >> yeah. and i know that there are going to be some early voting restrictions that have been eased up here on the east coast because of hurricane sandy. i know the new jersey governor chris christie is allowing people to vote actually through e-mail, which a lot of people -- >> or fax. >> yeah, or fax, which a lot of people are worried can lead to voter fraud because that system can be easily hacked. you and i both know this is not going to come down to election day.

it's going to come down to probably the next days after. >> i would be stunned if we're at this desk wednesday morning calling a winner. >> calling a winner. >> pointing out four things that could make things interesting -- the impact of the hurricane sandy. we just mentioned that. these provisional ballots may make it impossible to know a winner wednesday morning or late tuesday night. >> in ohio. >> in several states. also ballot printing errors, machine errors in some states as well. then citizen poll watchers, vowing to be on both sides. that may add to some of the confusion. so there are a lot of variables out there on tuesday that could make things -- turn election night into weeks of uncertainty. it appears over, but maybe not. stay tuned. maybe by thanksgiving we could be thankful that it's over. >> maybe. >> make sure you stay with abc news for complete coverage of the presidential election. >> diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos will be in our times square election headquarters, and our team will

be out in force for what we said could be a very long night, fasten your seatbelts, america. and now we turn to the latest on sandy's aftermath. the storm is now being blamed for more than 100 deaths, most of those in new york state. more than a million homes and businesses still have no power. now it's been nearly a week in the dark, and the situation is growing increasingly dire. temperatures have dropped. and now a strong storm and a nor'easter, in fact, is expected in the region by midweek. and adding to all of that misery, fuel, as many of you already know, is very hard to find. nearly half of all gas stations in new york city and new jersey are without power or gas. and people are waiting for hours at the ones that are open to fill up their cars or get fuel for generators back at home. meanwhile, though, fema is stepping up, delivering 24 million gallons of fuel through ten distribution centers. you have a gas story to share, unrelated to your diet. [ laughter ] >> rationing is going to be in effect probably throughout the week.

where we live, they just now stationed off an area, a gas station around the corner, and there's cones, orange cones set up, police officers. there was an issue where people were actually, after waiting in line for hours, they were cutting in front of the person waiting there a long time. and up until the time i went to work late sunday night, heard on megaphones like the police officers making announcements to all of the people that had been waiting for hours and hours. and on my way here -- another story -- the cap driver at a stoplight rolls down his window speaking to another cab driver, hey, do you know where we can get gas? >> my cabbie said, "i can't drive tomorrow. i'm out of gas." >> not providing it for them. >> crazy. be careful those who fill up your tanks, post storm, in new orleans, seen it here. people will siphon gas out of your car. so if you can, kind of put your car in garage if it's still standing, try to protect your car because people are desperate

and they will siphon out of your tank. it's a mess when gas goes -- you know, has a shortage. just be careful. also on top of that, a reminder all day today here on abc and your local abc station out there unprecedented "day of giving" and your chance to pitch in and help with hurricane sandy relief efforts. >> on top of the walt disney company's $2 million cash commitment, today, abc will be helping to raise money for the red cross. beginning with "good morning america" and running right through "jimmy kimmel live," all of our network and syndicated shows will be getting out the message with how you can donate on the web, through texting, and at 1-800-helpnow. >> give whatever you can. folks up here need it. >> and as the east coast recovers, not the news you wanted to hear, a new storm is on the way here. a nor'easter hitting wednesday with more gusty winds, flooding, and drenching rain from d.c. up to southern new england. and for your monday forecast, chilly in the

northeast. showers and thunderstorms from the carolinas to jacksonville and new orleans to houston. rain from minneapolis to st. louis. showers in the pacific northwest. >> 60s in the northern rockies. 40s in the midwest, northeast. 70s along the gulf coast. in pittsburgh, a day at the zoo turned to tragedy. it happened at an exhibit featuring wolf-like creatures called painted dogs. a 2-year-old child was lifted onto a railing by his mother to get a better view, but he slipped and fell 15 feet into the pen where 11 dogs attacked him. zookeepers lured them away but had to shoot and kill one who did not respond. but they could not save the child. apparently the dogs just went into pack mode, and the zookeepers were unable to retrieve the little boy. >> a lot of bizarre zoo stories in the last few weeks, including the bronx zoo as well. coming up, our coverage of the countdown to election day continues. we have been telling you now for months. seems like decades. about the latest polls, turns out the pollsters may have been asking the wrong question.

first the talented high school athlete who stopped short of an easy touchdown and why he's being called a hero for doing so. it's all coming up on "world news now." ♪ simply the best ♪ better than all the rest ♪ better than anyone >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by olay cream. ♪ anyone i ever met weather brought to you by olay cream. equal? introducing the newest trend in beauty. olay total effects cc cream. c for color. c for correction. [ female announcer ] fight 7 signs of aging with a flawlessly beautiful complexion instantly. we call it a phenomenon. you'll call it possibly the most exciting skin care since...olay. cc for yourself. [ female announcer ] and challenge what's possible with olay total effects cc cream.

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♪ take my heart and make it strong ♪ ♪ you're simply the best oh, you sound just like tina. >> close. >> close. >> it is the highlight, a high school football star will remember for the rest of his life. with a clear shot at the end zone, he intentionally stepped out of bounds, and that is why this is our, boom, "favorite story of the day." >> that's right. the coach and teammates cheered him on and for good reason. it was all about the play that followed. abc's ron claiborne has more. >> reporter: for the high school junior michael ferns, he was used to making big plays on the football field. the 17-year-old running back has committed to play football for the university of michigan after his team wrapped up an undefeated season this year, all the while maintaining a 4.0 gpa. but it was this play in an early october game when he stepped out of bounds just one yard shy of a touchdown that has many calling ferns a hero.

>> being able to make what happened happen, you know, was more important than some statistic in our record books. >> reporter: believe it or not, the coach planned for ferns to run out of bound, also that the big score and the boosted spirits that come with it could go to this young man. freshman logan thompson whose father had died two days earlier after suffering a stroke. >> he meant the world to me at the time. it made me forget all the bad things that were going through my mind. >> reporter: thompson had insisted despite his father's death to suit up for the game, so ferns and his teammates conspired to give the 15-year-old a special way to honor his dad. >> i think my dad would have been really proud. growing up as a kid, my father and i would always pass a football in the backyard. >> reporter: after telling ferns to stop short of the end zone, coach mcclain sent thompson into the game, his first start as a varsity running back. and a few moments later, he scored his first touchdown.

>> you know, when we got together to honor logan and his father, we never dreamt that he would do that. >> ron claiborne, abc news, new york. >> not only his first start, but his very first carry was right into the end zone. >> that's a great story. his father was just 44 years old, a young man to die of that stroke. apparently the morning that he suffered the stroke, logan actually grabbed a baseball bat and beat down the door in order to get into the room to get his dad. now yo can imagine what he's going through. what a great way for a team to come together. that's a fantastic story. >> sure is. >> when we come back, we'll see what is shaking in "the skinny" this morning. >> stick around. >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations.

♪ skinny so skinny all right, one of my favorite actors and yours is will farrell, funny man. >> got to love will. >> laugh master. >> he'll do anything. >> he has absolutely no shame. and, of course, he has just released a political video. just seeking everybody to get out the vote and make sure that you vote on election day. here's what he says he will do if you vote. >> if you vote, i will eat anything you tell me to. garbage. hair. human toenails. underpants. whatever. i'll do it.

i am serious. i will do anything to get you to vote. i will punch myself in the face. i don't care. whatever it takes. just go to the polls on november 6th and vote. if you vote, i will eat anything. >> i believe will. i believe he will do all those things. >> he also says if you agree to vote in this year's election, i will personally give you a tattoo. fair warning, i do not know how to draw. [ laughing ] >> love you, will. he's endorsing obama in the race, but i think the general message was go vote, go out there, be heard. >> go vote. don't eat toenails. >> will. oh. the big story, one of the big stories here in "new york post," sandy was the new york city marathon. first time ever in the race's history that they canceled it. mayor bloomberg was all about having it. then, after pressure and backlash really began to mount. he canceled it friday. stunned for people who traveled around the world to get here. they booked hotel rooms. all that. so turned it into a big mess here. it really had divided the city.

and they said, look, we're going to cancel it and donate supplies and resources from the race to sandy victims, which to me made a lot of sense. but some celebrities decided to tweet their thoughts. joy behar. from "the view." what do you mean they canceled sunday's new york city marathon. that can't be true. paul ryan already announced that he won it. a fun, partisan comment. jimmy kimmel. wrote in. we love jimmy kimmel on the show. i'm running the nyc marathon anyway and i'm going to win. is he still in brooklyn? is he still with us in brooklyn? >> i believe that was just last week. >> back home, jimmy. then also -- snooki, everyone's favorite star. she chimed in -- go team, help the people. they canceled the nyc marathon due to a public uproar. yea. feel accomplished? i do. thank you, snooki, for all of that. but a lot of folks chimed in. i think, you know, there was no right side to the debate. i think they erred -- the timing stunk, but i think they erred on the side of sensitivity to what

the area had been through and the devastation and the property and the lives lost, so we'll see. that debate will continue to rage. there it is. >> sad that people had arrived. taken some of the hotel rooms from those that truly needed them because they were evacuated. >> it was messy. all right. so joe simpson, jessica simpson's father, her parents are getting divorced. they announced that, i think, last month. >> 30 years. >> there were rumors, the reason for the divorce was that he was hanging around with guys and living a gay lifestyle. he has told his family that this is not true. he says there were stories about him being gay are ridiculous. this is according to tmz. some believe him. some think he's just not ready to come out publicly. >> well, he's defending himself. it's a messy divorce after all those years. it's got to be messy in public. that stinks. and also, ladies, leo dicaprio is on the market. he broke up with his girlfriend, erin heatherton, a victoria's secret model.

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>> also, i would like to give sincere thanks to presiden also i would like to give sincere thanks to president obama for how he handled the situation. on election day i'm voting for mitt romney, but if i had to pick one guy to have my back in a crisis, it would be barack obama. again, i'll be a good soldier and vote for mitt romney, but i'm going to hate it. do you hear me? i will hate it. and one final note. to the new jersey residents who are going through the phone book and making threatening phone calls to people named sandy, cut it out. you're being idiots. all right. be safe. >> that was "saturday night live," poking fun at the bromance, of course, between new jersey's governor and president obama in light of the storm. certainly, a relationship that speaks to our next story. >> sign language, chick, nailed it. >> they get a lot of attention. they're going crazy. >> my husband was like i can't pay attention to anything. >> you are looking at all the signs. >> here.

i'm going to read. you interpret. >> yeah. >> it's about predicting the election and who voters really like. abc's john donvan shows us why pollsters should have been asking a different question. >> reporter: you can ask voters who they want to win, but ask them who they think will win -- who are you going to vote for? >> romney. arkansas and who do you think's going to win? >> obama. >> reporter: you may get -- a decent forecast of the actual outcome on tuesday. >> what people are feeling and from that you get a broad sense of how your local community's feeling. >> reporter: justin wolfers of the university of michigan just published a study on polling data where he and a colleague looked at data from hundreds of elections dating become to the 1930s asking what pollster's question was the best predictor of who got elected. it was not the obvious one -- which candidate do you prefer,

which they say would have predicted 69% of elections they studied accurately. rather it was which candidate do you expect to win. 81% of the time, voter consensus on that turned out to be correct. that's because wolfers believes, voters, real people, know things. >> the amount of information you have, it's almost like you're a little pollster. >> mitt romney wins the popular vote but loses the electoral college. >> it's a tie. >> it's a tie. >> reporter: let the pundits predict. it may just be that voters know best, not only what is in their own hearts but also those of everybody else in line. john donvan, abc news, washington. >> that's so interesting, the reality versus the perception, who you think is going to win versus who you want to win. interesting. psychological difference. >> who do you think is going to win? >> i'm not making any predictions. i think we'll be here for weeks talking about it. mm-hmm. who do you think? >> i think the sign language interpreters are going to win. >> oh. >> you. >> you should run for office. that was a very down-the-middle answer. we'll have more from abc coming up next. >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now," informing insomniacs for two decades.